JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Actually the tow hitch comes out pretty much unscathed, but more importantly so does the battery pack.
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Tesla adds Titanium Underbody Shield to Model S
- Thread starter Jgdixon
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
hans
P631
Kraken
Member
While I doubted there was any difference, None that I could think of, I figured the way we nitpick here, it couldn't hurt, haha.
anticitizen13.7
Not posting at TMC after 9/17/2018
Hmm… looks like you're correct. I though I saw a piece of the hitch fall off but upon closer inspection it's a grommet from the plastic aero assembly.
The hitch seem to be deflected away from the car.
Seven7
Member
I think your right, just looked at my car I don't have either of those. Nice to see pics of this, I was thinking the new shield would cover the entire battery front to back, This shouldn't affect the battery swap out plans if they ever actually start doing that.
@scaesare if you look at the photo I posted of my mom's new S85 I think it also shows that possibly new piece just above the existing rock shield. See below:
Seven7
Member
I am relieved to see the parts are relatively small. When I read "titanium underbody shield" I envisioned a huge metal plate covering the whole underside of the battery pack, decrasing ground clearance and adding at leat 150lbs of weight. Not to mention the cost of retrofitting such a thing on thousands of cars for free (investor here)
SteveW25561
Member
Thanks for the pictures!
From the pictures, it appears all of the new shield is forward of the battery pack, hidden under the black plastic shroud.
This explains why you only see the black underbelly in the videos and it still crushed the concrete and the alternator since it is reinforced behind the plastic. It would also allay fears about titanium and aluminum corrosion since this is all forward of the battery pack (and I presume there isn't a lot of aluminum that would contact the shield under the frunk area). It also has no effect on the ground clearance.
It also would be a solution that doesn't interfere with the battery swap.
Elegant, well engineered, executed with class and delivered already in stealth mode. How "Elon" of them! Kudos to the Tesla team.
I've already emailed my sc to ask to have it when available. Is it wrong that I now kinda want to seek out debris to CRUSH it?
From the pictures, it appears all of the new shield is forward of the battery pack, hidden under the black plastic shroud.
This explains why you only see the black underbelly in the videos and it still crushed the concrete and the alternator since it is reinforced behind the plastic. It would also allay fears about titanium and aluminum corrosion since this is all forward of the battery pack (and I presume there isn't a lot of aluminum that would contact the shield under the frunk area). It also has no effect on the ground clearance.
It also would be a solution that doesn't interfere with the battery swap.
Elegant, well engineered, executed with class and delivered already in stealth mode. How "Elon" of them! Kudos to the Tesla team.
I've already emailed my sc to ask to have it when available. Is it wrong that I now kinda want to seek out debris to CRUSH it?
From what i've been able to tell by my observations, there are three structural components to the shield, also Elon's post has mentioned this as well.
At the front of the mechanical area ahead of the battery pack, I think there is basically what is an aluminum pole (Elon refers to it in his post as 'rounded hollow aluminum bar'). It's the first line of defense and it is appears to be designed to reposition potential piking objects and have the piking action happen into the titanium plate or the plastic aeroshield or frunk liner area ahead of the battery pack.
Just forward of the battery pack leading edge is the aluminum extrusion with holes and an indention pattern that is positioned at an angle. This piece is designed as the last line of defense. If an object reaches this piece intact, the piece will help push the car up and over it (Elon says 'causes the Model S to ramp up and over the object').
The Titanium plate (which is actually the second line of defense) is just behind the rounded aluminum pole and on top of the aluminum extrusion. It covers almost all of the mechanical area under the front of the frunk, behind the rounded aluminum pole. The plate appears to be very, very strong, so objects that impact it are usually crushed or repositioned in the case of a object that isn't crushed or structurally degraded by the plate (Which keeps the object from piking into the battery) and ejects the object to the side or back of the car.
It really is an ingenious solution that appears to be designed to keep the weight of the material used as light as possible and to be easily retrofitted into existing cars and easily integrated into the production line. Tesla once again shows it's engineering and problem solving chops. I'm no structural engineer, but to my eye, it appears that this is no brute force solution. It's an elegant, efficient design that solves the problem about as efficiently as possible without completely redesigning the front of the car. Great job Tesla!
At the front of the mechanical area ahead of the battery pack, I think there is basically what is an aluminum pole (Elon refers to it in his post as 'rounded hollow aluminum bar'). It's the first line of defense and it is appears to be designed to reposition potential piking objects and have the piking action happen into the titanium plate or the plastic aeroshield or frunk liner area ahead of the battery pack.
Just forward of the battery pack leading edge is the aluminum extrusion with holes and an indention pattern that is positioned at an angle. This piece is designed as the last line of defense. If an object reaches this piece intact, the piece will help push the car up and over it (Elon says 'causes the Model S to ramp up and over the object').
The Titanium plate (which is actually the second line of defense) is just behind the rounded aluminum pole and on top of the aluminum extrusion. It covers almost all of the mechanical area under the front of the frunk, behind the rounded aluminum pole. The plate appears to be very, very strong, so objects that impact it are usually crushed or repositioned in the case of a object that isn't crushed or structurally degraded by the plate (Which keeps the object from piking into the battery) and ejects the object to the side or back of the car.
It really is an ingenious solution that appears to be designed to keep the weight of the material used as light as possible and to be easily retrofitted into existing cars and easily integrated into the production line. Tesla once again shows it's engineering and problem solving chops. I'm no structural engineer, but to my eye, it appears that this is no brute force solution. It's an elegant, efficient design that solves the problem about as efficiently as possible without completely redesigning the front of the car. Great job Tesla!
I have yet to see someone post a photo of the "aluminum pole" piece. It sounds like it should be visible near the front edge of the underbody. Anyone see it?
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I don't think it will be visible, it should be above the plastic cover somewhere in front of the titanium plate.
This sounds correct to me. Surely a good plan.
But this doesn't solve the terrible problem of reversing over 'pikeing' objects at high rates of speed and damaging the battery pack! :scared:
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Yes, that's also called "doing an Elon" - how soon can we get that into one of the dictionaries / phrase guides?!
The shield may not, but the aluminium deflector does extend slightly under the front edge of the battery pack, and may thus impact battery swapping.
Time will tell.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
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